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Writing a timed essay under test conditions
Writing a timed essay under test conditions (120 minutes) Writing an essay under timed conditions presents you with certain challenges. The most significant challenge is probably that you have to think under pressure. The guidelines that follow will help you to use your time wisely, enabling you to produce the best possible work in the time available. 'Read/study the question and final instructions (5 minutes)' It is important to clearly understand the question and instructions you have been provided with. An effective strategy is to underline key words in the question. Now proceed to your essay outline. 'Plan/Outline (10 minutes)' You are now ready to plan your essay. Do not be tempted to rush in to your writing as an outline, however informal, will save you time as you write and keep you focused. This outline could take the form of a brainstorm where you put the topic or thesis in the centre of the page and then write supporting evidence and examples that branch out from the main point. Don’t forget then to refer back to your outline while you write. Outlining is the more linear and structured option to follow. Your outline can indicate: How you will begin and end your essay (i.e. your introductory and concluding paragraph) What your thesis statement will be What each of the paragraphs in the body will be about What the order of these paragraphs will be. Review your notes and now compose your thesis statement. This should clearly indicate the main point of the essay. With either planning option, you should indicate which of the available sources you intend to use in support of your argument. Indicate as (Author, year and page). 'Write your essay (65 minutes)' You are now ready to begin writing your essay as you should have a clear picture of what you want to say. You need to manage your time very carefully here as you only have a few minutes to write each paragraph. Introduction: An effective introduction draws the reader in and makes them want to keep reading. A good strategy is to start with relevant background which provides a context to the discussion to follow. However, unless a great opening dawns on you immediately, skip it and leave enough space to go back later. Do not neglect your thesis statement at this point as it is the central point of your whole discussion to follow. This indicates to the reader what you will be arguing in your essay. Note that you may need to refine your initial planning of the thesis statement. Finally, write an essay overview, which links to the topic sentences in the body of your discussion. (15 mins.) Body: Remember that each paragraph needs to have a topic sentence containing the main idea. This should be explained using details and examples, keeping in mind that a well-developed example should be sufficient, given your limited time. There should be a clear link here back to the thesis statement i.e. only include evidence that supports the central claim. Remember the need for counter arguments and the refutation in providing a balanced discussion. (35 mins.) Conclusion: Here you need to show how the discussion in the body of your essay has addressed your thesis statement. Recap your line of argument in support of this. You may also want to identify conflicting evidence or the limitations of your thesis in this section. (15 mins.) 'Revising and editing your writing (30 minutes)' After you have finished writing your essay, go back and read it thoughtfully. This is your opportunity to fix up any confusing sentences and add words that you may have left out. You should also delete any part (even a whole paragraph) that does not really add value to your writing. Also pay attention to word choice, sentence clarity, cohesion between paragraphs and major spelling or grammar errors. You could consult the dictionary or thesaurus on the library website for this purpose. Pay specific attention to revisiting your introduction to improve your opening. You may wish to check your thesis statement once again. Does it still effectively represent the central argument of your essay? Spend some time listing your references (in text and in the reference list) correctly and accurately. Remember that this counts towards 10/50 marks and you should pay close attention to accuracy and consistency. Under no circumstances should you make use of secondary references. Finally, check the formatting of your essay. You should use a size 12 font (size 11 if Arial) as well as 1.5 line spacing. Headings can be size 14 and bold. Justify your text. Please check that you have clearly indicated your name and student number as well as your lecturer and group. This could ideally be done on the cover page''as well as'' in the ‘footer’ section of the page. 'Turnitin and printing (10 minutes)' Now upload your essay to Turnitin under the name of your lecturer. Print the essay according to the instructions provided by the CBT staff.